A little taste of Germany in B.C.

Gord Scott, Postmedia News10.08.2013

The Black Forest Restaurant in Harrison Hot Springs, an almost-kitschy take on Bavaria, has been serving up healthy portions of schnitzels, bratwursts, pork hocks and all manner of hearty German fare on the edge of Harrison Lake since 1975.

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Those tired of travelling the same old routes from Vancouver to Okanagan fun have at least one exotic option - go through Germany.

Touching down in Frankfurt or visiting Berlin might add too much travel time and cost, but you can get a taste of the old country by stopping off at Harrison Hot Springs and Keremeos/Cawston. Better bring an appetite.

Just 10 kilometres off the Trans-Canada Highway (taking the Bridal Falls exit, through Agassiz) and a little more than 1.5 hours out of Vancouver lies the Black Forest Restaurant in Harrison Hot Springs. A perfect lunch stop to shake the sameness out of the drive.

This almost-kitschy take on Bavaria has been serving up healthy portions of schnitzels, bratwursts, pork hocks and all manner of hearty German fare on the edge of Harrison Lake since 1975.

The patio's the perfect place to dream alpine in nice weather - the lake stretches off across the street toward verdant mountains that could have stood in for Julie Andrews' big scene in Sound of Music.

If the weather forces you inside, the campy interior will support the illusion that you're in the heart of Europe - and the bear at the bar doesn't bite.

Inside or out, "Hanzi" could be spinning a bizarre mix of traditional polka, salsa and metal rock tunes (through the wonders of satellite technology) on the sound system that sound like they've all been channelled through the same oompha band.

The food is good, and there's lots of it, so a walk along the esplanade is recommended before heading back to the car.

By taking the Crowsnest Highway east through Manning Park and Princeton, the alpine sensations last all day. Mountain peaks, shimmering streams - who's to say they don't yodel around here? If you're touring rural-German style, you've got to overnight in a Landgasthof - agri-tourism with the emphasis on clean, simple accommodation with great food and wine. That means you're headed to the Crowsnest Vineyard in Cawston, in the emerging foodie belt of the Similkameen Valley.

Siblings Sascha and Ann Heinecke are front and centre in the warm hospitality offered in this family guest house. Their parents came to Canada "in hunt of a better life," Sascha says, settling first on the Naramata bench, and then acquiring Crowsnest in the late '90s.

Sascha studied hospitality management back in Germany, and Ann is the winemaker - they and their parents, along with a collection of dogs, are key to the warm welcome offered. The bistro's been in operation the whole time, and rooms were added in 2006.

"The regulars know it's always going to be my sister or mother in the restaurant, the same food and always one of us will be around," Sascha says.

That food is, needless to say, very European, plentiful and affordable - and the bistro serves the wine grown just past the patio. Bread is baked here and there's one beer - it's Warsteiner.

The seven upstairs guest rooms are simple and functional in the Germanic manner. An evening walk along the vineyard road reveals acre after acre of grapes or tree fruits with dramatic dry mountainscapes in the background - very much like the Okanagan of years ago.

The family acknowledges that many visitors hail from Germany, but swear a recent evening - five of the six occupied rooms went to German speakers and Mercedes filled the parking lot - was an anomaly.

Sascha assures visitors that his family has, indeed, found the good life the troupe searched for, and that no expansion is needed.

"If I can fill six rooms and feed six rooms of people six months of the year, I'm happy," he declares.

Well, there may be the addition of a hot tub or pool.

"It's hot in the summer and you need something to do with the kids."

For more of that kind of diversion, you'll find plenty of luxury a halfhour's scenic drive to Osoyoos. But you'd be leaving Germany.

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